From modern cottage to treehouse to big ole’ hale (Hawaiian for ‘house’) to glamping with wi-fi, Kalani has it all.

Indulging in massage, sauna, a full schedule of mind-body activities, plus wandering an endless jungle trail surrounding the property makes Kalani one of the rare places on earth I’ve never wanted to leave. What’s great about Kalani is you can be as social or introverted as you wish…the community feel is thriving, yet plenty of solo time can be found to write, reflect, meditate. It’s a writer’s paradise, quite literally.

The food you ask? Incredible. The kitchen caters to everyone from vegan to paleo to the kid who loves Lucky Charms (you’ll probably find the organic version here, though😉. Three times per day, a conch is blown which lures Kalani guests and their hundred or so volunteers head to the most beautiful buffet that rivals Whole Foods (get in line early or show up on the late end to avoid waiting long). Plus, you’ll undoubtedly graze on tropical delights such as guava and starfruit that fall from trees here.

I was first introduced to Kalani when I attended a 30-day intensive yoga teacher training at the retreat center. Kalani’s feels much like a second home to me, and has been my go-to getaway spot on the islands ever since. E como mai (welcome) to my one of my second homes🙂

It’s not simply the fly-ferry-longtail boat journey to The Sanctuary
Thailand that will leave you wanting to disappear into this lush jungle-beach ‘alternative’ resort forever (and ever…).

(Don’t worry, you can also arrive by speed boat…check out the spa’s website for further info🙂

Longtail Taxi Boat

I adore Sanctuary Thailand! In wintertime, I found myself dancing around a moonlit beach bonfire, rocking in the New Year alongside the most eccentric and varied group I’d ever met: de-toxers and re-toxers, jet-setters, yogis. During my summer visit, I loved the young, health conscious, and flashpacker (upscale backpacker)-solo-traveler vibe.

The Sanctuary Thailand boasts a full-service Spa and Wellness Center, a full-on yoga and meditation schedule with classes held in a gorgeous open-air shala over looking lush jungle, accommodation ranging from mat-on-floor dorms to luxury tree houses, a delicious restaurant, and a Wellness Center offering a comprehensive detox program.

Spa time!

Gorgeous houses and private rooms are scattered throughout the jungle-beach property. Several accommodation-spa-yoga packages are available.

I’ve stayed in the gorgeous dorm above the restaurant for 200 baht per night ($4!), and in the Wellness Center’s Detox Dorm during a week-long cleanse.My 5-day detox (3.5 days fasting) was a less than $500 and included dorm, cleanse, my “last meal”, plus yoga, spa treatments, and unlimited steams (the clove-spiced steam room before or after a thai massage is to-die-for!).

Dorms at Sanctuary Thailand

The Wellness Center not only offers 2-14+ day detoxes, but also sells Kombucha, wheatgrass shots, and hosts plenty of reading material which can be enjoyed from any hammock or cushy chair on the property.

The restaurant’s menu includes tasty and healthy food which would appeal to any Modern Day Wildwoman (or man). You can order anything
from Thai to Indian, vegetarian to meat-eating with salads, salmon,
and steak. I indulged plenty in the Raw food section which not only
caters to detoxers, but anyone! And trust me, raw food tastes
especially delish during the hot Southeast Asian summer. I sampled
raw treats like “Not yogurt” (blended raw papaya, full of good-for-you enzymes) to “Raw Pad Thai” (made with raw radish) and raw soups.

A mantra on my mind as of late hasn’t been in Sanskrit but in plain English:

Pay attention to yourself.

And as an expansive yang to the contractive yin of my mantra…

Pay attention to those paying attention to you.

In our hyper-connected world, it’s all too easy to get caught up in awe, comparison, even vying for the attention of others. Perhaps others on who’s radars we don’t even exist. Even if we appear as a tiny blip, how much energy must we expend before we realize that energy would be better served in the direction towards not only ourselves, but those actually looking at us directly in the eye?

How can anything happen if we seek far off and over the horizon? The only way I can think to spread light is to start right here. With those on my own radar, and myself on theirs.

Paying attention to those looking at me seems the logical next step. Above acknowledging someone taking the time to come to my yoga class, or comment/”like” my contributions to the world out of all the 1000 bagillions of yoga classes or social media posts out there, I mean paying attention at a subtler level. Paying attention to the light energy and the dark energy coming your way. Be aware. Team up, or don’t. Respond, or don’t. Reflect in the light; bounce away from the dark.

And I have to remind myself, and share with you, not to take it personally if no acknowledgement is heard back at all. Sometimes the radar gets foggy and overwhelmed. We have to forgive each other and understand that maybe, just maybe, a person is taking some time to contract and pay attention to…shocker…themselves. Or something else important in their lives. This does not mean silent love and acknowledgement isn’t being sent your way.

My life is full, exciting, and its exactly, no!…more-so…as I manifested it to be when I gave up what I “should” be doing, what wasn’t fun or fulfilling. I’m grateful. I say thank you every day. I’m also aware of a lingering self/world-doubt: I’m ready to be happy with myself even if it all gets taken out from under me. Things can change in an instant, a rough lesson I learned as a child. Just keep going.

However, I’m trusting that with awareness, by this paying attention, and by simply trusting, that it won’t.

Pay attention to yourself.

Pay attention to those paying attention to you.

How do you pay attention to yourself? How do you pay attention and become aware of others surrounding you, and how do you interact with the light and darkness of those eyes on you? Would love to hear your thoughts, my friends!

Within the Eastern worldview, the human being is a microcosm of Nature, a smaller universe. Human beings represent the juncture between Heaven and Earth, the offspring of their union, a fusion of cosmic and terrestrial forces. The Chinese ideogram for human being is rooted like a tree in the Earth with hands outstretched like branches toward the heavens, receiving power from above and below. Sustained by the power of Earth and transformed by the power of Heaven, humanity cannot be separated from Nature-we are Nature, manifest as people. As a cosmos in miniature, we are propelled by the same forces. Good and bad are relative, not absolute. Life and death balance each other. Seen and unseen, soma and psyche, are aspects of one continuous process, by definition ever-changing and in flux.

Meta

There are so many contridictions
In all these messages we send
(We keep asking)
How do I get out of here
Where do I fit in?
Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin’
It’s waiting for you to awaken
And someday you will-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still.